The Greek Netflix Series, Maestro in Blue, is the first Greek TV series to make it to Netflix and it’s been localised into several languages, which means you can watch it with subtitles for a little bit of help if you’re a beginner or intermediate student of Greek. From what we hear from our Omilo students attending a Greek Language and Culture course in Greece, many have discovered this Netflix series already, but in case you did not see it yet, or if you want to improve your Greek listening skills, then we suggest to give the Greek TV series Maestro in Blue a try.
Maestro in Blue; The story
Maestro in Blue, also known as Maestro among Greek audiences, is a Greek drama series that was released on Netflix in late 2022. It was written and directed by the Greek actor, screenwriter and director Christoforos Papakaliatis. The Greek drama television series was originally created for the Mega Channel on Greek TV and now is on Netflix worldwide. To date, the series consists of one season of nine episodes.
Christoforos Papakaliatis plays Orestis, a music teacher who travels to the Greek island of Paxos during the COVID pandemic to set up a local music festival. There, he meets Klelia, a 19-year-old ambitious girl who wants to study music in Athens. As the TV series unravels, they get closer and fall in love with each other, but keep their relationship a secret because their significant age difference would cause a scandal within the small Greek society of the island.
As he gets entangled in the lives of the locals, Orestis gradually discovers that the idyllic life of the island’s inhabitants is not what it seems. The forbidden but passionate love affair becomes a catalyst that awakens the many important social issues that are hiding under the surface of everyday life, such as homophobia, domestic violence, crime, and addiction.
The series succeeds in both highlighting the natural beauty of the Greek island Paxos and its picturesque little towns, as well as criticising the darker elements of small, conservative and closed off Greek communities that are often swept under the carpet.
Paxos Island
Located close to Corfu, Paxos is a small island located in the Ionian Sea, off the west coast of Greece, and is part of the Ionian Islands group. It’s a little green gem, covered in olive trees and surrounded by crystal-clear waters. You can get there either by flying to Corfu, from where you can take a ferry to the island, or by taking a ferry from Igoumenitsa, a port city in western Greece. Even though it has become an increasingly popular tourist destination over the last few years, Paxos retains its original, unspoiled character and the series seeks to highlight this fact. This being said, we can see it being added to many travellers to-do list after the release of the series!
Is there a 2nd season coming?
In an interview on Greek TV, Papakaliatis stated that the filming of the second series of Maestro will begin on April 1st, 2023 and will take place in Athens and Paxos.
Recently, we learned that in May 2024 we will have the opportunity to travel once again to the deep blue waters of Paxos. The second season consists of six episodes, while the series will conclude with a four-episode third season, which is expected to air in the fall of 2024 on Mega TV and Netflix.
Are there more Greek TV-series?
In search for more Greek TV series to help you practise your Greek listening skills? Another great option is Η Αίθουσα του Θρόνου (en. The Throne Room) is a Greek period drama TV series that was aired between 1998-99 and was filmed in both Attica (Athens, Lagonisi and Nea Makri) and the island of Syros, where the Omilo summer courses take place. Read more about it on our blog.
PS. If you want to see more work by Papakaliatis, why not watch another interesting movie, which was released in 2015; Worlds Apart
